


Impulsive

by Llixale



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Sam Wilson from another dimension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-01-10 22:29:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,557
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18417161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Llixale/pseuds/Llixale
Summary: “You kissed Bucky” Steve says. No “hello”, no “how are you?”“You did WHAT?” Samuel asks in turn, jumping from the couch to join them.Sam eyes them both, silently praying that a cosmic force will give him the strength to keep his cool or end his suffering right now.





	1. Why did you kissed me?

“Cap?”

  
  
“We are closing on him” Steve answers quickly, so Sam turns away toward the roof where the portal used to bring this “guy” here is still active.

  
  
From the sky, he can no longer see Steve’s car driving south, following him despite the circulation. At the bottom of the building, Shield agents are picking up the criminals who activated the portal in the first place.

  
  
“I’ll shut that thing, meeting you in seven”

  
  
Sam is flying too fast to be able to prevent the collision with the thing that comes out of the portal just as he is about to land. They roll on the roof, dangerously close to the border. He gets ready to fight but notice that the man has the same face as him. His suit seems more tech-based thought.

  
”Sam Wilson?” the man asks, but he doesn't wait for an answer, a ”Shit!” later and the machine starts to make a weird sound before exploding with enough force to make them fall from the roof.  
They manage quite well to recover mid-air and both lend a few buildings away.

  
  
”What the hell man?” Sam asks, getting a closer look at the other one. He has four wings and his suit is more covering. It reminds him of some designs Rhodey and Tony talked about with him a few months ago. It is true that he has a bit too much exposed skin to his tastes.

  
”Did you see Gael? Like tall, paper white skin, jumps everywhere and has a freaking long tongue?”

  
  
”Yeah, my team is looking for him” Sam answers, the urgency of the situation having to take precedence before having tea upon meeting another version of himself.

  
They already know the portal leads to another dimension, they were unable to detect which one but at least it's closed now and only two people managed to go through. 

  
”Okay, be careful, his spits his highly corrosive. Let's go”

  
  
Sam thinks that, even if the man has his face, he should not blindly trust him. It could not even be human for all he knows but he needs to join the others anyway so for now, he’ll act normal. Besides, Redwing is always ready to keep an eye on the man so he would have a hard time attacking him from behind without Sam noticing.  
  
They fly into Brooklyn sky in sync, until Bucky’s voice informs Sam that the man, Gael, created quite the chaos on the road, which prevents Steve and Bucky to follow him furthermore.

  
  
”We lost him” Sam announce, landing with grace on another roof. ”So, who are you exactly? What is going on?”

  
  
The other taps quickly on a bracelet visibly frustrated.

  
  
”I am you, you can call me Samuel. Gael is a petty thief with the habit of associating himself with criminal edge lords. Going through another dimension is a first, however”

  
  
”With the machine destroyed, how are you going back once we got him?”

  
”I have a beacon,” Samuel says, showing his bracelet ”My team can extract me. Or they will come here if I don’t send regular proof that I am alive and well” he adds in a strange way.

  
  
”Is that a threat?”

  
  
”A warning. You may have the same handsome face as me, it doesn't mean I can trust you”

  
  
”Funny, ” Sam starts ”I am thinking exactly the same”

  
  
”Glad we are on the same page then”

  
  
Samuel presents his hand and Sam shakes it with a grin. For the time being, Samuel decides to stay with Sam, at least until they joins Steve and Bucky. Sam asks if he is an Avengers too in his world.

  
”An Avengers?!” Samuel laughs ”Hell no. We often got beef because my team and me we are who people call when their incompetent asses fails”

  
By the look of it, he seems to apply that to Sam and his team too, which is fair game since someone just escaped them. Upsetting, but fair.

 

“They are going to freak out when they see you man” Sam says with a giggle, walking toward the rendez-vous point in a small alley between two buildings. It’s not exactly the most discreet place but it will do.

 

The first one to emerge from the shadows is Bucky and all Sam hears is a whoosh sound before Samuel flies past him right into his friend, make them both roll right at Steve’s feet. He puts his hand on Bucky’s neck and does something that clearly hurt the super-soldier. Steve’s reflex is to kick him away and it’s only when Samuel look up and sees Steve that he seems to hesitate, even if he still looks furious.

Sam runs to him, pushing him away from his friends.

 

“Stand down! What the hell was that?”

 

“He…He is dangerous. Don’t you know who this is?” he asks Sam, pointing at Bucky.

 

“He is with us!”

 

“Who is this?” Bucky intervenes, massaging his painful neck.

 

“Sam?”

 

Sam turns toward them “It’s the Sam from the same dimension of the frog guy, Gael. His name’s Samuel” then turning to Samuel again “Explain”

Samuel slaps his hand away.

 

“I don’t need your fucking help”

 

“Dude, don’t be a dick and tell me what’s wrong”

 

Samuel has his jaw tight and fist closed “You are working with the Winter Soldier and you want me to tell you what’s wrong? Have you lost your damn mind?”

 

Of course, Steve couldn’t stay silent at that.

 

“He is not the Winter Soldier anymore. Do not touch him again”

 

“I wouldn’t touch him even if you paid me too you fucking hypocrite asshole” Samuel answers with a despising tone. You are a jerk in my world and you are one here too it seems”

 

Sam pushes him to get his attention “They are with me. Do not think that I won’t put you behind bars if necessary. Calm.the fuck.down”

 

Samuel pushes him back “Fuck you, traitor”.

 

With that, his wings spreads and he flies away.

Sam is boiling, when he looks at Steve and Bucky, he is surprised to see that Bucky is looking at him intensively.

 

“What?”

 

Bucky says nothing, starting to walk out of the alley. Steve looks at the sky again before following in silence too. For some reasons, it makes Sam uneasy and a bit ashamed, despite not doing anything wrong.

 

* * *

 

 

Sam takes the lead to look after the two fugitives while he has the feeling that Steve and Bucky are talking about him on the back of the jet, hearing some agitated whispers.

At least, they manage to find Gael a few blocks away easily so they quickly fly to the place but, right in the open, they witness Samuel fighting not only Gael, but also some goons wearing yellow and black outfit. People are running and screaming, some of them are already hurt. Steve calls in the reinforcement to take care of them while they throw themselves in.

A thing that Sam notices quickly is that Gael doesn’t care about the people fighting with him, frequently using them as shield, and Samuel isn’t subtle about letting Bucky get hit, but he does make an effort to work with Sam and Steve.

Because of that attitude, he isn’t surprised when Samuel deliberately let someone aim for Bucky. Sam manages to get his teammate of out the way but he finds troubling that Samuel would go out of his way to get Bucky killed. He can’t imagine doing the same unless he was facing someone he considers truly awful. What would be the history between this Sam and the Bucky of his universe?

 

“Sam, get on the ground, now!” Steve shouts.

 

He doesn’t have to think about it and starts to get closer to them but an unexpected pulse hit him and completely shut down his wings. The fall wouldn’t have killed him but he still is grateful for Bucky to step in and catch him. Samuel doesn’t have that much luck, landing on a car and rolling on the ground weakly.

Once again, Gael escapes, using baits and human shields to make sure he has a way out.

They are all frustrated but since Samuel seems two seconds away from losing consciousness, they go back to the jet, Steve carrying their guest despite his very weak attempts at trying to stop him.

A medical team is waiting for them and does a quick check up to be sure they sustains no hard injuries. Samuel had quite the shock but nothing some rest couldn’t fix, luckily.

 

“We need to know what the deal is with him” Steve presses, visibly annoyed at the other Sam.

 

“Once he is awake, we will talk to him…Okay Bucky, what is **you** r problem? You are looking at me funny since he attacked you”

 

Bucky doesn’t answer, suddenly focusing on taking care of his weapon.

 

Steve wants his attention “Bucky?”

 

“Do you resent me for something too?” he finally asks Sam without even looking at him.

 

“I resent you every day because you are a dumbass and you decided to have a Jesus take the wheel moment while I was driving, besides that? No, and guess what, sometimes, I may even appreciate your company” Sam admits, hoping that a bit of humour will reassure him. Bucky should know by now that if Sam had a problem with him, he would definitely know.

 

Clearly, Bucky thinks about it before nodding and going back to his gun. Steve looks at the two of them as if he was missing a crucial piece of information, which isn’t the case.

 

Samuel wakes up when they arrive to the Facility’s medical bay. His first reflex is to check if he has been attached, which isn’t the case. His things are on a chair next to him.

 

“Let’s try again” Sam starts with exaggerated sweetness, Steve and Bucky in a corner of the room, ready to intervene if necessary “Hi, I’m Sam Wilson and this is my friends, Steve and Bucky. We will help you stop the thief. What is not going to happen, is you insulting or trying to murder them. Are we good?”

 

The staring contest starts and Sam knows Samuel is looking for his options, his eyes passing from Sam to the super soldiers. The look, almost of disgust he has for them is making Sam’s skin crawl.

 

“Maybe you can explain to us, who have done nothing to you by the way, what is going on with the Bucky and Steve of your world?” he adds.

 

“Maybe you can just let me go and if you don’t get in my way, I won’t get in yours?” Samuel replies with some attitude.

 

“Am I this annoying?” Sam asks at the two other men and while Steve seems embarrassed and answer “Sometimes”, Bucky, with a smile says proudly “Yes”. Sam rolls his eyes at that. “Just answer the damn question Wilson”

 

Samuel sits on the bed, looking directly into Sam eyes “Do you have a Riley in your world?”

 

Sam can’t tell, but both Steve and Bucky tense at that. They don’t know where this is going, but they already do not like it. Sam’s face harden “Yes”

 

“Well, I was married with my Riley”

Sam has a bit of a nervous laugh escaping him “What?”. He loved Riley, but they never…it was an unrequited crush, at least from what he could tell, but Samuel and his Riley took it to a whole other level apparently.

“Yeah, we were on our last tour, supposed to find a nice place to live together after that. During a mission, the Winter Soldier pops up and he shoot a freaking missile at Riley. I couldn’t even find his ring after that” He looses himself in the memories for a few seconds before speaking again “So, naturally, I hunted him. It took me years but finally, I was able to put a bullet in his brain for taking my husband” he coldly adds, this time looking at Bucky. “Of course, the great Captain America wasn’t all that happy so he and his little friends tried to come after me. Well, all of that for nothing, turns out the government and most people thanked me for killing the fucker so…”

 

Sam’s head is spinning. He cannot move to look at Steve and Bucky.

 

“You killed…”

 

“Yeah. I got my revenge”

 

“He was brainwashed”

 

“Does this make my husband suddenly not dead anymore?”

 

“Does **THIS** make your husband suddenly not dead anymore?!” Sam shouts, unable to control himself.

Samuel looks at him with a bit too much compassion. They never met before today but they know each other as if they were one person suddenly, it’s scary. Would have Sam gone after The Winter Soldier too if he had killed his Riley? Is he allowed to be unsure of himself now when he fought Tony, T’Challa and his friend to prevent them from getting their hands on Bucky before?

He feels dizzy, lost and hurt for his double. Tears gathers in his eyes and he sees the same in Samuel.

“Can you give us a moment?” he asks Steve and Bucky.

He hears more than he sees them getting out and close the door behind them.

 

 

There’s some shouting, some threats and they even almost fight but when they both get out, an hour later, they seems okay. Steve gets up from his chair but Bucky stays right where he is, hair hiding half of his face.

Sam encourages Samuel to speak with a hand on his shoulder.

 

“I recognize that you two have nothing to do with my history and I apologize for my behavior. I do not ask you to understand who I am but I be out of here as soon as we get Gael. I hope that we can work together”

 

Sam seems proud of him and adds “He will stay at my place in the meantime”

 

“Are you sure?” Steve asks warily.

 

“I understand your hesitancy, I accepted to be monitored, just so you know” Samuel shows his right arm with a Shield bracelet on it.

 

Steve agrees and Sam decides to show Samuel around but before they disappear, Sam can’t help but look at Bucky, who is looking right back at him. He wishes he could have hide the shiver running through his body because Bucky notices it and seems almost angry. Sam quickly retreats unable to shake the feeling that he made a mistake somehow.

 

* * *

 

He does not see them before diner and, unfortunately for him, the situation is embarrassing.

T’Challa was in New York so, of course, he came to spend some time with the Avengers after whatever he needed to do. Now, Samuel has seen Wanda and Natasha with which he was polite to without being obnoxious. With T’Challa however, Sam sees in direct live someone looking just like him doing a seduction number on the King of Wakanda. To his own horror, this is when Steve and Bucky appears in the kitchen with them.

 

“If I had knew that the King of Wakanda was this beautiful, I would have let him captured me” he comments shamelessly, which make T’Challa laugh.

 

“First time I see a bird willing to get into the cat’s claw”

 

“Well, I can think of a more terrible fate than having your fingers on my body your Highness”

 

Sam is can’t find the strength to move, looking at the scene with morbid curiosity, he can’t even answer when Steve approach him and asks him in a whisper what is going on.

 

“You are playing with fire Samuel”

 

“Be careful, a Falcon is more than enough to take care of a little cat”

 

“There’s nothing little about me, I can assure you”

 

“Oh? Is that so?”

 

What finally get Sam out of his torpor is the feeling of a murdering aura somewhere behind him. He turns to see Bucky and, more than that, Bucky looking at Samuel and T’Challa. The way his eyes are piercing them, it looks like…jealousy? Bucky is jealous? Why would…Oh…

Sam has flashes of interaction between T’Challa and Bucky with a completely new light. He can not believe it. Well, he can, but he really can’t believe it at the same time. It tugs at something in him for some reason.

In the small moment it took for that theory to pop up, T’Challa got his vest on and Samuel was saying that they would eat somewhere else and were leaving.

Steve and Bucky both look at Sam, clearly waiting for him to say something.

 

“I don’t understand, one second I was introducing him to T’Challa, the next they started their thing and…oh my God, does this mean I could have been marrying a King the whole time?!”

 

“So you are interested by him!” Bucky accuses.

 

“What? No! I mean he is cute and all but no! I won’t came between you two if this is what you are scared of”

 

Bucky is scandalized “Between me and T’Challa? What makes you think…”

 

Sam cuts him quickly “Please, I see you look at them with pure jealousy. You were two seconds away from jumping in”

 

Steve’s eyes goes round as Bucky tries to defend himself, blushing “I am not attracted to T’Challa, you should go have your sight checked, you stupid duck”

 

“Whatever you say _ice cube_ ”

 

Sam tries to end the conversation but Bucky isn’t done.

 

“I am not!”

 

“Okay”

 

“Fuck you Sam”

 

“So defensive, not suspect at all” he teases.

 

Steve decides to share his wisdom “Maybe he is jealous, but not of who you think”.

 

Bucky elbows Steve so hard he almost fell on the ground. Sam is worried about the whole exchange.

 

“Dude, it wasn’t that serious”

 

“Yes, it was” Bucky admits painfully.

 

Sam looks at Bucky and he doesn’t seems to be joking at all. He decides to back off “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have talked about that”

 

Steve massages his ribs, eyeing Bucky with the clear promises that they will talk about this later. There’s a strained silence between them, Steve is the one to break it.

 

“This is ridiculous Bucky and you know it”

 

He makes a point to show his disappointment before leaving the kitchen and close the door behind him dramatically.

 

Sam isn’t sure what is going on but hopes not to be an asshole when he tries to show his support “Whoever you are attracted to, I got your back. Just letting you know. But of course, if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s cool too”

 

“You got my back uh?” Bucky chuckles to himself. It’s not particularly warm, just incredulous, almost as if Bucky wasn’t believing it.

 

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

 

Bucky closes his eyes, Sam can tell he is counting to ten in his head.

 

“Are you sure you just don’t hate me like your doppelganger? Jesus, Sam, what I did…”

 

“It wasn’t you” Sam immediately answer even if he knows it’s clearly not that easy.

 

Bucky starts pacing in front of him, silence break only by his frustrated noise.

 

“Come on Sam, his version of James Barnes killed his husband. I know for a fact that you loved Riley and do not tell me that you are over it. Do not tell me that if I was responsible for his death, you wouldn’t have done the same as him. Why aren’t you angry?!”

 

Sam already thought about all of this, Samuel didn’t hold back during their exchange so he knows there is no easy answers. He also know that Bucky is looking for a fight, he will probably forever feel guilty about was the Winter Soldier has done. He has to show Bucky how he feels, even if he doesn’t have the words for it.

Having Bucky in his arm, for some reasons, brings tears in his eyes at first. His friend is hesitant to touch him but finally get his arms around him too. It makes Sam feels good to the point of thinking “This is what I want” which confuses him. All he knows is that Bucky shouldn’t bear the sins of others, even others with his name and face.

 

“We are not them” Sam says confidently as he moves his head to look at Bucky initially, except he is so close he practically talked right to Bucky’s lips. Lips that he tries not to look at so he closes his eyes and maybe he tilts his head just a little. Maybe he presses his lips on Bucky’s, takes a short inhale and suddenly the lips aren’t there anymore.

 

He opens his eyes, Bucky looks at him in shock before a complex mix of emotion passes on his face setting for anger and incomprehension.

 

“You shouldn’t have done that”

 

Bucky leaves the room and Sam stays here, bringing a shaky finger to his lips. Where did that come from? Why did he kissed him? Why? What is he even doing?

 

“Bucky, wait!”

He runs behind him, trying to stop him but Bucky evades him without a word.

“For fucks sake, BUCKY!”

 

“Are you completely out of your mind?” Bucky hisses. He passes a hand on the bottom of his face, then shake his finger in disbelief “What the hell?”

 

“I don’t know. I don’t- Sorry, I don’t know why, I just…”

 

“Just what? Kissed me out of the blue, just because?”

 

“Yes!” Sam answers instinctively “I mean, I’m sorry man, okay? I’m sorry”

 

Bucky doesn’t seem to agree, “I don’t care that you’re sorry” he says before starting to leave “Do not follow me”

 

* * *

 

 

Sam comes back home frustrated with him and with Bucky too. Okay, he kissed him, it was a mistake, that’s all. This shouldn’t be the end of the world…

And he shouldn’t think about it as much so why, even a full hour later, his mind is filled with those few seconds?

He has no idea what to do now, if he should talk to someone about it or not. Maybe he should try to forget about it but somehow, his brain refuses to let the feeling of their lips together go. He just doesn’t understand how it happened and what he was thinking.

Someone knocks on his door, he opens to see a giggly T’Challa, apparently kissing goodbye to Samuel.

 

“Tomorrow”

 

“Tomorrow your Highness”

 

Sam can’t wrap his mind around these two.

 

“I like this Earth, very welcoming”

 

“I might understand how tongue fucking a king may seem welcoming, however, what the hell are you doing? Dude, you have my face!”

 

Samuel rolls his eyes “Son, you are just plain stupid. How did you passed the occasion to know him…better?”

 

“I know him just the way I want, thank you. Jesus, this day is just awful…”

 

Samuel takes himself a beer, cracks it open and look at Sam having an existential crisis.

 

“All of this because of me and the King?”

 

“No, this is just the icing of the cake actually”.

 

Being the subject of his own stare is annoying. He didn’t know he had such a piercing look. He wants to tell him everything but it may not be the brightest idea considering he tried to kill Bucky that very same day.

 

“I think I’m just going to sleep, you can take the couch, or whatever. I trust you not to do anything stupid. I mean…not that I can talk or anything but, you know”

 

“Relax” Samuel says, finishing the beer in his hand “I’m fine with the couch”.

 

Sam sees him starting to do something with his bracelet and leave him be. He just want to sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

He doesn’t know what he expected but Steve knocking on his door at six am isn’t it.

 

“You kissed Bucky” he says. No “hello”, no “how are you?”.

 

“You did WHAT?” Samuel asks in turn, jumping from the couch to join them.

 

Sam eyes them both, silently praying that a cosmic force will give him the strength to keep his cool or end his suffering right now.

 

“Yes, I did”

 

“Why?” they both ask at the same time.

 

So annoying.

 

“Why should I answer to you two?”

 

Three can play that game Sam decides.

 

“We are inter-dimensional twins”

 

“I’m your best friend”

 

They look at each other and nod. Sam thought that Samuel and the Steve Rogers of his dimension had issues but he is glad to see it doesn’t extend to this Steve anymore, even if it is at his expanse.

He shakes his head, walks to his coffee machine with the two men on his tails, makes a whole show of breathing on the smoking cup and take his time.

 

“I have no answer for you”

 

There’s some displeased and indignant noises then accusation of him lying and hiding the truth.

 

“You can’t tell me that you just kiss people for no reason Sam, not you!”

 

“I do some dumb shit but kissing the Win- I mean, Barnes, that”s…Dumb. Especially if you don’t know why. Allegedly”

 

Sam drinks his coffee, waiting for them to finish “What exactly do you want for me? I said I was sorry to him and he rejected it”

 

“So what? You are going to ignore that? Are you in love with Bucky?” Steve’s tone is suspicious and he doesn’t particularly enjoy the judgmental look Samuel is giving him either.

 

“ There’s no point in thinking about it much, it’s already over anyway”

 

At least, this sentence got the other men quiet. The small problem is that it does hurt him to actually say this. It does in a way that he isn't sure he should be feeling, not toward Bucky anyway. What is wrong with him?


	2. Chapter 2

_Over_

 

The awareness that he might want something other than a simple friendship with Barnes and it's already a dead end is shocking to him. It sucks, and the more he thinks about it, the more disappointed he is.

 

He knows he is frowning, but he doesn’t care. He just goes to his bathroom, takes a shower, brushes his teeth, walks out of the bathroom with only a towel around his hips still frowning, then out of his bedroom fully clothed and the same exact scowl on his face.

 

Samuel and Steve are still here. He gets out without a word to them.

 

 

 

He knocks on Bucky’s door, again, arms crossed and walks right in his apartment when the man opens.

 

“What are you doing here, Sam?”

 

“I don’t understand,” he answers, visibly milking something in his head.

 

“What are you talking about?”

 

“Did I fucked up that bad when I kissed you? I know I shouldn’t have, it wasn’t planned and it was bad, but I swear I’m sorry Buck’”

 

Bucky stays looking at him for a moment, his body a bit less tense as time passes.

 

“I think you are lost”

 

Sam could deny it, instead he should be honest, even if it doesn’t help him “I am”

 

“So why are you here?”

 

 

The frowns return, Sam went to him without thinking. He just needed to see Bucky but now, what was is hoping for?

 

“Can I hold your hand?” He asks back.

Bucky’s first thought is to refuse. Sam can tell because his mouth starts to move before he stops himself, huffs and present his flesh hand to Sam who takes it by caution. Does Bucky has to look so annoyed?

He looks at it, traces the lines with his fingers, feels the warmth of it. He never thought much of other men’s hands but here, it’s more than that and Bucky knows it. This is why he allows Sam to intertwine their fingers for a moment before letting go.

“Is it weird if I say that I want to kiss you again?” he admits.

 

“Yes, it is. What? It really is. You think I’m going to let you kiss me again? Just because you want it?”

 

Sam looks away in embarrassment “Why not?”

 

Bucky laughs “Ok then Wilson, kiss me, since you want to do it for no reason”

 

There’s so much challenge in his voice Sam isn’t sure if he is joking or not. With anyone else, he would easily tell if this would be sarcasm but not with Bucky.

 

“Forget about it” he says finally, completely turning away.

 

“Are you leaving?”

 

“Yes” he turns back to face Bucky “Sorry I don’t have all the answers about the how and why. No need to be so mean about it”

 

Bucky looks mildly annoyed “Mean? You kissed me, came here without knowing why, asked to kiss me again, I told you it’s weird and I’m mean?”

 

“Why does this need to have an explanation? I want to kiss you dude, that’s all. You said no, I get out of your hair, it’s simple”

 

Bucky scoffs, eyes opening big “Nothing is simple with you Wilson”

 

Sam, offended, takes a big step to be right in Bucky’s space. The man doesn’t bulge, looking at him in the eyes with the same intensity. Sam is ready to do anything to wipe that attitude off his face. He moves his head, presses his lips against Bucky’s in a three seconds kiss.

 

“See, simple”

 

“Unbelievable…You’re…so shameless”

 

Still, Bucky doesn’t move or indicate that Sam should move back so Sam stays right where he is and brings two fingers to Bucky’s jaw to keep it still, if he wants to.

 

“Maybe I am” he agrees, kissing Bucky once more.

 

The craziest thing, Sam thinks, is that Bucky kisses him back. Yeah, he doesn’t move anything else, doesn’t touch him, but his lips are following the dance.

The fingers on his jaw are moved up to touch his right ear, stroking it gently as they separate. When Bucky looks at him again, it’s with a quizzical look.

No, rather a look that says “ _You are crazy_ ”

Sam smiles.

 

“See ya” he winks before leaving for real this time.

 

He couldn’t look more smug if he tried too when he comes back to his place, Natasha and T’Challa have joined Steve and Samuel so four persons looks at him in a sudden silence as he walks into his kitchen and drink some orange juice.

 

“What’s up?” Sam asks.

 

Steve, apparently outraged, repeats his words only to have Natasha cut him.

 

“We found our toad, we were working on some details to make sure he wouldn’t escape us again”

 

“Nice! When do we leave?”

 

“Am I the only one wondering why Sam came back with that face after having seen Bucky?” Steve interrupts.

 

“Priorities, Captain” Samuel playfully scolded, T’Challa right behind him.

 

Natasha agrees, shutting Steve before he can answer to that. They keep it on track until everyone leaves to get ready, having an half an hour window before the meeting in the jet.

 

* * *

 

 

Sam just finished strapping his wings when someone knocks on his door.

 

“Come in”

 

T’Challa enters silently, closing behind him.

 

“What’s up Kitty-King?”

 

There’s a bit of silence where T’Challa seems to observe Sam more than anything “It’s remarkable how similar yet different you and Samuel are”

 

“Well, we don’t have the same experiences so…”

 

“Indeed. He is a nice man. Very nice” T’Challa has a faint daydreaming face for a second.

 

“And I’m not?” Sam asks back with a smirk just to mess with him.

 

T’Challa looks at him from head to toe “I just want to be sure there’s nothing complicated between us. I did not hide my attraction for Samuel, as you know. I can’t pretend that, at least physically, what I feel for him would never translate to you. However, you are not him, so I am not looking at you the same way I look at him”

 

Sam put a hand on his shoulder “It’s cool. It’s like having a twin I guess. It’s nice of you to talk to me about this, I appreciate it. Look at you being a great guy and shit”

 

T’Challa laughs softly. Maybe it’s selfish but he is glad Sam has his eyes on Bucky. Makes it easier not to feel frustrated at the thought of having some kind of untapped potential here. It’s the same with Nakia, her works keeps her away from him and remembering that what she does is important to her and to a lot of people helps him keep a cool head and not try to argue with her that they could be in a relationship.

Once Sam is done, they walk together to the jet, preparing mentally for the mission to come.

 

_At the same time, one floor below._

 

When Bucky opens his door, Samuel is one of the last person he thought he would see. Since it’s the first time the man appears in front of him without someone else, he has his guard on. Yes, he said he wouldn’t try to kill him again but, who knows?

 

“Buchanan, can I have a word with you?”

 

“Bucky” he corrects, opening the door wide to let him inside. “What do you want?” he asks, trying to soften his tone to suggest that he may help him if he needs it.

 

“You and my counterpart. Are you two together?”

 

Bucky scoffs “This would be none of your business but no, we are not”

 

“Why not?”

 

For a second, Bucky is lost because he would have swear Samuel didn’t want Sam to be anywhere near Bucky in the first place so why his tone seems to suggest that they actually should be together? At least, according to him.

 

“Again, none of your business” he says a bit annoyed.

 

“Listen Becky…”

 

“Bucky”

 

“…I care about me, and I care about the “me” in other dimensions too, even the ones with questionable tastes” he continues as if he wasn’t insulting both Sam and Bucky “And he cares about you”

 

“He cares about a lot of people. He is nice like that” Bucky answers without emotion.

 

“He likes you”

 

“Did he tell you that?”

 

Samuel makes a face Bucky often sees when he talks with Sam. The “ _You’re so stupid oh my god_ ” face that, on occasion, he may or may not find cute. He doesn’t think it’s cute on someone who killed his double thought.

 

“You really can’t be that blind. Aren’t you supposed to have better senses or something?”

 

“He never said or did anything before you showed up so I’m kind of perplexed by the whole thing,” Bucky admits, wondering why he opens up to him anyway. “I’m not saying that I am not interested, but I think he is just lost and I do not want to be around when he opens his eyes and asks himself why he is wasting his time with me”

 

“The great Winter Soldier, unable to take a chance in love…” mocks Samuel with delight.

 

“No one said anything about love” Bucky corrects, his reddening cheeks betraying him. “We are going to be late anyway, let’s go”

 

“Brooklyn is in lo-o-ove” starts to sing Samuel “he wants to k-i-s-s Sammy under the t-r-e-e”

 

“I’ll strangle you and no one will ever find the body, I swear” Bucky threatens as Samuel dodges his hand and walks faster under some intrigued agent’s eyes.

 

When they meet the others, Bucky aim for neutral but Samuel goes right to Sam and says loudly for everyone to ear “You’ll thank me later”. However, the pure moment of fear washing over Sam’s face is priceless as he looks at Bucky and quickly drags Samuel away.

He can tell Steve tries to talk to him to but both T’Challa and Natasha blocks each attempts and tries to make him focus only on the mission instead of gossiping as if he were at the hair salon. He is glad about that because subtlety when it comes to feeling is not Steve strong suit.

 

* * *

 

 

The second Sam thinks “ _Everything is going according to the plan_ ” he wants to take it back. Gael is here but he had the time to team up with the “Circus of Crime” in addition to AIM. When the Circus introduced themselves, Sam and Samuel started laughing as Princess Python and the Human Cannonball honestly thought they were menacing.

Well, Cannonball rushed into T’Challa and the shock looked painful. Sam flies after Gael, a bit surprised when other members of the Circus started to appear to block everyone. As usual, Gael tried to use others as a shield but Sam was relentless, so much so that Gael leaps away in an underground room Sam can’t access right away because of a facial recognition system. It takes him a minute to hack into it but when he succeed, he finds himself in a large room with the exact copy of the portal used to bring Gael and Samuel here in the first place.

Gael pushes a button and the portals activates, the metal circle glowing blue and gold.

Sam doesn’t hesitate and flies to catch him but Gael throws his tongue through the portal and manage to grab something. Or rather, something grabs him because they are both pulled faster than Sam can react.

 

“Shit” he thinks, closing his eyes as his body travels on the other side.

 

He ends up on his back and blinks slowly

 

“Oh, this is a nice catch” someone enthusiastically says, prompting Sam to look at the cat looking lady squatting on his right “Wait a minute”, she sniffs him “You’re not our Sam!”

 

A cat Lady? That's new.

 

“Fuck” someone else says, a man with one of the meanest face he has ever seen. _What’s up with his eyebrows?_ Sam wonders. _Why the deep V neck to his freaking belly button?_ “We can’t stay here, they are coming anyway”

 

“Well, “ the cat lady says “follow us Bird Boy”

 

Sam is not about to follow some randos in another reality “Who are you? Who is coming?” Gael’s body is lying next to him, probably knocked out.

 

“Have you met Samuel? We’re his team and the ones we should avoid right now are the Avengers. If that stupid Captain Murica shows up, we will all have problems”

 

Sam may not know a lot about this version but he knows enough not to want Steve throwing his shield at his head. He heard that this version doesn’t shy from beheading people with it.

He gets on his feet quickly while the mean looking man puts Gael on his back. They run outside and manage to escape right as a delegation of cars and vans arrives.

 

“This way” the cat lady presses, running away to get closer to some trees and behind them, a white van not that different than the one they avoided.

 

They open it, Gael is thrown inside at a blonde woman feet. She squints at Sam “What the…”

 

“It’s the other one” the man explains before jumping in the front next to the driver “Let’s go Daisy. Sue, you’re good?”

 

“Yes” the blond says, touching her head with two fingers and focusing.

 

Sam wonders what she is doing but for now, he tries to stay ready and think about how to get rid of all of them if he has to.

 

The driver, Daisy he supposes, asks “So, where’s our Sam?”

 

The voice seems vaguely familiar but he can’t see her beside a side of her short haircut.

 

“On the other side, if my team try to go through the portal…”

 

“They won’t be able to” The cat lady says “Now that the Avengers are around, no one is using it, that's for sure”

 

“So you’re telling me I have to stay here?”

 

“Unless you manage to convince them”, mean face guy answers, finishing to tie Gael so he won’t escape again.

 

“Okay…It can’t be that bad. I’ll go to them, show them that I am not who they think I am and make sure that your Sam can cross safely and won’t be arrested right away”

 

They laugh at Sam’s proposition.

 

“Good luck with that” Sue comments, stopping whatever she was doing previously.

He is almost afraid to ask but the animosity between them seems so intense that he is surprised the only reason they didn’t kill each other is because of Fury somehow, the only one trusted by both parties. At least, that's what Samuel told him.

 

“Most of us are ex Shield agents but when Hydra revealed their true face and Sam heard about the Soldier…well, we left. It has been problems after problems since” Daisy explains. “Us, we will be okay eventually but you…I mean, the other Sam... it’s different and it’s not really our place to talk about that”

 

“Okay, just stop the car, I’ll do what I’ll have to do” he finally says, tired of this nonsense “I know Steve, he won’t touch a damn hair on my head once I explain to him what is going on and the less I know about you, the better for everyone”

 

They are not convinced but if he planned to go talk to Steve anyway, it was better for him to leave now . It’s not that they trust him, but they know that Samuel is okay thanks to the bracelet his other self has, they have no reason to doubt this Sam.

 

He look at the van drive away and takes a deep breath.

 

* * *

 

 

He is in the middle of nowhere and has to get in touch with the Steve Rogers of this world without having someone else try to kill him. Easy breezy. 

He just wish he had more information because he doesn't exactly trust Samuel on how he tells his stories.

Using his map, he notices that he is actually closer to New York than he previously thought. It doesn’t mean that he should use his wings to fly and get snipped on the way. Luckily for him, he has a killer smile because five minute later, a car stop to help him reach the big city.

 

It’s really not that hard to find a way to contact the Avengers of this dimension, they are still in Stark Tower with the exact same giant  **A** as they had. He doesn’t even have a cap or some shades to hide his face so he will have to count of his sheer audacity to deliver his message.

He takes a deep breath and walks right through the large glassy doors right to the reception, despite the fact that he clearly noticed some agents reaching for their weapons and communicate between them.

 

He patiently waits in line like any visitor and act as unbothered as he can with no doubt that he set some people on high alert.

 

“Hello, how may I be of assistance sir?” the woman asks, apparently not knowing who he is.

 

“I have a message for Steve Rogers, Captain America”

 

“A message?”

He gives her the time and place he expect Steve to appear. She seems perplexed and look at someone behind him to know what to do. When she has her answer, she put back her fakest smile.

“Sure, we will transmit it for you, mister…”

 

“Wilson. Sam Wilson”

 

“Very well Mister Wilson, have a nice day”

 

“Thank you, I wish you just the same” he smiles, turning and walking just as normally as possible.

 

There’s only one reason he is allowed to leave and its because someone in power gave them the orders to let him go, which he is grateful for. The last thing he wanted was to fight his way out of the Avengers tower.

 

 

* * *

 

 

It’s early in the evening, the sun is still shining so bright you wouldn’t think he would go down anytime soon.  
  
He sits on a bench in the same park he met Steve for the first time in his world, looking at people running, laughing, playing with their dogs and just living their life.  
From here, everything look just like his word.  
  
He isn’t worried per say but he does hope that Steve is coming soon.  Instead of stressing out, he tries to relax, looking at the sky at first before closing his eyes for a moment.  
  
He hears Steve before he sees him.

  
  
“You have some balls, walking in the tower to get me here. Breathe the wrong way and your body will have some new holes in it”

  
  
Sam opens his eyes, somehow still surprised by the aggressive tone.

  
  
“Hello Steve” he simply says at first, inviting him to sit down first, which he does after some long seconds drown in silence.  
“I am not the Sam you know...”

  
  
Steve laughs meanly “Wow, you waited four years to tell me this? I know damn well who you are. A murderer, a liar...”

  
  
“No, I mean I am Sam Wilson but from another dimension. Remember the portal your team found earlier? I accidentally went through it”

  
  
Steve closes his mouth, his eyes analyzing him quickly.

  
  
“You really think I’m going to fall for that?”

  
  
“Can you listen to me for a few minutes?“ he asks back.

  
  
“Last time I listen to you, you betrayed me”

  
  
Sam is intrigued by that because Samuel wasn’t aggressive toward Steve. Nothing could have implied that he knew Steve more than because he killed the Winter Soldier of his world. Betrayal would mean that there was trust in the first place.

  
  
“That’s the thing. It’s not me. You know the portal works. Gael, the bad guy and Sam...Samuel we call him, went through it a few days ago but not in the same place.  
By the time we got to Gael today, he activated the portal and when I tried to stop him, I accidentally ended up here”

Steve seems unimpressed as he evaluates the possibility of it being the truth.  
“Surely you have a way to check if I tell the truth of not?” Sam proposes.

  
“Or Maybe I can arrest you now and make sure you never see the light of the day again” he threatens “All that it tells me is that you found a way to change your frequency to support your story”

  
  
Sam rolls his eyes “Use the way you want to find out the truth Steve”

  
  
“The way I want? Are you sure about that?” He challenges.

  
  
Sam nods and Steve smiles. A smile not that far from being a bit sadistic if Sam says so himself.  
He understands how facing the man who killed your best friend might get that reaction but something seems off. More personal. He really hopes Samuel didn’t hide a crucial detail leading to his death.  
  
Steve gets his phone out “Scarlet?” and hangs up right after.

  
  
Sam doesn’t have that much time to wonder who he called because a gush of wind makes him blink and suddenly, Wanda is here.  
  
She eyes Sam nastily and he knows deep down that’s he does NOT want to get on her bad side.  
  
“He is saying that he is not from this dimension. Can you find if it’s true or not?”  
  
She nods one time, her eyes starting to glow red. She doesn’t even ask anything before coming closer to him and put her hand on his temple.  
  
“Now. Who are you?” Steve asks.

  
  
Sam is about to answer but instead of words, memories starts to blind him, as if someone took key point of his life, from him being a child, his parents, his father death, the military, Riley...

  
  
“STOP!”

  
  
His body jerks away, tears filling his eyes. He hates that he couldn’t let that pass but some things are sacred.  
He wipes his tears, gets up from the bench.

  
  
“So?” Steve asks Wanda with no regards to Sam discomfort. She answers that she isn’t sure but was getting there.  
“Find the truth” Steve orders and this time, Sam knows it’s really going to be painful.  
  
Not only does he lives Riley’s death, again, but then it feels like he has to live a condensed version of his depression, then the VA, people he couldn’t help, Steve, Nat, the Avengers, Wanda, Bucky...

  
  
“This is not the Sam Wilson from here” she concludes suddenly.

  
  
Sam’s vision is blurry as he comes back in the here and now.  
He vaguely hear Steve thanks her and she walks away. Only now he realizes that besides them, there’s no one else in the parc. When did everyone got evacuated?

  
Sam needs some time to get his breathing under control and calm his heart.

  
  
“A Sam Wilson telling the truth, I’m surprised”

  
  
“You are an asshole” he lets out.

  
  
“Well, the Sam from this world changed me so, you can thank him for that”

  
  
“Listen, all I want is to go back to my own world where Steve Rogers isn’t a fucking bastard. What the hell man?!”

  
  
“You told me to find a way. I did”

  
  
“No. You enjoyed this, you’re nothing like Steve” Sam accuses knowing that this is going nowhere anyway.

  
  
“How is the Steve Rogers of your world then?” He asks, clearly curious.

  
  
“Certainly not the type to mess with people brain. Steve is the embodiment of a human golden retriever. He is one of the best man I know and you are just the twisted version of that. He would beat your ass for that”

  
  
Steve seems satisfied with the answer, asking in turn “Have you met Sam? My Sam?”

  
  
Sam assumes that by “My Sam” he means the Sam from his world.

  
  
“Yes I did. He tried to...” he shuts up quickly. Not sure about what he should say or not.

  
  
Steve doesn’t miss that so of course he goes right to it “Tried to what?”

  
  
“Doesn’t matter”

  
  
“Yes it does, because he could very much be fucking up your world right now. He can’t be trusted”

  
  
“How would you know that?” He asks defensively as if it was an attack on his own character. “What do you even know about him?”

  
  
Steve laughs “How close are you from your Steve?”

  
  
“His my best friend”

  
  
“Well, me and Sam were fiance”

  
  
Sam feels like his brain censored the last word so he let a spiritual “Uh?”

  
  
Steve answer with the faintest smile “We were together. Romantically”

  
  
He laughs nervously, then stops, then laughs again. He doesn’t know how to process this information.  
“You are lying” he says, because he can’t have that be true. It doesn’t make sense, Samuel NEVER mentioned that.

  
  
Steve gets out his phone once again, visibly looks for something on it then shows it to Sam.  
It’s a video of Steve and Sam in bed in what could be early morning , Steve is arguing with Sam about something stupid and Steve is the one recording the conversation. At the end, Sam gets closer from Steve and kisses his exposed neck before bringing a hand to his jaw and the video cuts.

  
  
“What, the fuck, happened?” Sam asks, lips tight and eyes right in front of him to the empty park.

  
  
“We met here...”

  
  
“Yeah, me and my Steve did too”

  
  
Steve smiles, the first genuine smile he saw since they met.

  
  
“I don’t know why but there was this instant connection like I knew I could trust him. And soon, we started to date. He was beside me when the corruption inside Shield got exposed”  
  
Sam couldn’t help but notice how similar yet different it was for him and his Steve.  
  
“Then The Winter Soldier appeared and I recognized Bucky. I wanted to save him but Sam wanted to kill him. We had a some fights and I couldn’t understand why he would be so stubborn.  
It took us some time to find some information and when Natasha found the list of his past missions, Sam went to Tony to tell him about his parents while I understood that the Soldier killed Riley”  
  
He feels nauseous, almost as if he could taste Samuel’s anger and frustration on his tongue.  
  
“But Tony was taking too much time I guess” Steve continues “So he went to Zemo too. In the end he betrayed everyone by killing Bucky and Zemo and bring their body to the government without telling me or Tony. Imagine our face when we woke up one morning with the press everywhere saying that the Avengers were corrupted and Sam Wilson did what was right. He got close with Ross so quickly even Natasha couldn’t get to him anymore.  
In the end, he had a new team, America’s approval and the back up from both the military and the Government even if they were just as corrupted as Shield

 

  
  
Sam can’t say anything for a moment, he would NEVER do that to Steve. Never. He couldn’t, it wasn’t him, it couldn’t be him, right? He knows Bucky was manipulated, changed into nothing more that a weapon and by the same logic you don’t put a gun in prison, it didn’t made sense to let Bucky be killed or caught.  
He knows this! And even if Riley...If Riley...  
  
He risks a look to Steve but he doesn’t know what he expects to see.

  
  
“I’m sorry...” he says, despite the fact that he personally did nothing. He feels responsible.

  
  
“It wasn’t you”

  
  
“It could have been. I disagreed with some of my Steve’s choices but I always trusted his goal and his vision. I don’t know if it would have been the same if I had been touched personally” he admits, because there’s no easy answer.  
  
He explains what happened in his world and how he appreciates Bucky despite him being a little annoying idiot sometimes.

  
  
“Well, that’s hard to believe”

  
  
“I can imagine” he tells Steve.

  
  
They both soak their respective story in, trying to imagine how it must have been for the other.

  
  
“Somehow, I hate you a little” Steve confesses “for showing me that it could have been better. That I could have saved my Bucky...”

  
  
“I’m sorry” he offers again “This is fucked up”

  
  
They stay again in silence for a while before Steve gets up and tells him that if he wants to go back, he can.

  
  
“People will go crazy when I tell them about you” Steve comments as they join the Shield agents to go back to the Tower.

  
  
The transformation between Steve before and now is like night and day. Sam hopes it means he really understands that he is NOT the same as the Sam he knows.  
  
He is properly introduced to this Wanda her brother Pietro, alive here, and Shuri who, in this universe, is the Black Panther. Which might explain why Samuel never had the occasion to met T’Challa before.  
  
Pietro was by far the least welcoming followed by Shuri but Wanda was warmer by the time they arrive.  
  
While Shuri and Bruce who has no intention to talk to Sam and arrived late prepares the portal, Sam waits patiently.

  
  
“Too bad we can’t keep you, you are better than him”

  
  
Sam laughs but because he can feel just the tiniest point of flirtation behind the words, he feels the need to say “I’m basically trying to date your best friend in my world so no-can-do Rogers” then, an idea pops in his mind “You should come”

  
  
“What?”

  
  
“Come with me, just a few minutes, meet the others. My Bucky and my Steve. But more than that, I have to teach Samuel a lesson”  


 

Steve’s sadistic smile returns “I love how you think”

  
  
  
When Sam goes through the portal, the room is secured by Shield agents.

  
  
“Sir, The Falcon is back” one of them immediately says.

  
  
The first arriving is Bucky and Steve, asking if he’s okay. Then T’Challa with Samuel.

  
  
“You are back? Where’s Gael?” He asks.

  
  
“Your team got him. They were on the other side” Sam answers then, discreetly to Bucky “Block all exits”

  
  
Bucky walks away as if nothing. Sam can tell he is following his order even if he doesn’t know what’s going on.

 

  
“Good, then my mission is finished”

  
  
“Oh Samuel, by the way, a friend of yours has something to tell you” Sam says with is most innocent looking voice right as the portal opens and Steve from the other universe walks through.

  
  
Samuel reactions doesn’t wait, “Oh, shit!” He swears, turning to run away only to be blocked by Bucky.

  
  
“What...” Steve says.

  
  
Steve two, or let’s call him Steven looks around, come closer to his other self “Uncanny” then to T’Challa “mine is better looking” and finally to Bucky and Samuel.

  
  
He spends a long time looking at Bucky and everyone here knows why.

  
  
“So, Samuel, Steve here told me a very interesting story but I don’t want to be unfair, I give you one chance to tell your truth. But just so you know, if you lie, I will whoop your ass before I give you back to him and I won’t care what happens to you”

  
  
Bucky and Steve are a bit surprised at the threat.

Samuel thinks about it while trying to contain his anger to himself.  
  
Finally, he tells his side of the story, how he met Steve and what happened when he crossed the Soldier's path. His priority was the get revenge and for that, he was ready to do anything.

  
When Samuel explained, partially, his story to Sam the first time, he wasn’t sorry then and it was hard to know if he was sorry now despite having met Bucky and knowing that he has been brainwashed.

  
  
Steve’s mouth formed a “o” when it started to become clear that Steven and Samuel had been together and T’Challa shook his head, clearly embarrassed.

  
  
“I thought it needed to be done” he explains “but I’m not like you Sam. And you don’t know how it is to face the murderer of the man you love. You told me yourself how your Tony reacted to what he did. Can you blame me?”

  
  
“I'll tell you exactly what I told you before. He was brainwashed and it didn’t brought him back. You knew what he went through so don’t tell me this is justice”

  
  
“Maybe it wasn’t” Samuel finally agrees, his eyes emptier now.

  
  
Sam wonders if he was starting to see things differently as he turns to Bucky.  
It looks like he wants to tell him something but can’t, so instead he turns to Steve, at first, trying to look proud and unrepentant but then, something change and his eyes move to the ground in submission.  
  
“Sorry we had to meet in those circumstances” Steven says. Then he turns to Bucky and seems hesitant but when the other man makes a step in his direction, Steven closes the distance and gives him a strong hug before taking a step back “Sorry. I know you're not him but...”

  
  
“It’s okay, I understand”

  
  
Steven looks damn close to cry but he takes a deep inspiration and grabs Samuel.

  
  
“Thank you. You’re a great guy” Steven says to Sam.

  
  
“Yeah yeah, go back to your world Captain Savage” he waves with a smile.

  
  
Samuel gives him a last look and they disappear through the portal.

 

* * *

 

  
  
When they get out of the building, Bucky loudly sighs “I’m glad that this whole thing is over. One Sam is enough. Someone who dated Steve AND did whatever the fuck they were doing with T’Challa? Mess!”

  
  
“He was fun” T’Challa defends himself.

  
  
While they start their conversation, Steve holds Sam back so they can talk in private.

  
  
“This is pretty crazy”

  
  
“It is. How do you feel about it?”  
Sam is sort of stressed to know because Steve’s opinion is important to him.

  
  
“I...I am glad you are you and I have you by my side...as a friend”

  
  
Sam pushes him away while Steve laughs “You would be lucky if I looked at you that way Rogers, don’t get it twisted”

  
  
“I would but I appreciate that my very alive best friend is going to have the luck to date my other alive and non-bitter other best friend”

  
  
“Stop it, he never said he was interested”

  
  
Steve is more serious when he says “Maybe, but he was really worried about Samuel being here and when you disappeared. Even T’Challa wouldn’t change you for him”

  
  
Sam looks at the two men in front of them “You know, I hate to feel that what he did is something I could have done in others circumstances. Betraying you like that and all”

  
  
“I trust you Sam” Steve cuts “I like to think that if we ever found ourself in a similar situation, we wouldn’t let anything turn us against each other”

  
  
Sam agrees even if a part of him is in doubt. Things got better with Steven when they talked and communication is key in a relationship, should it be between lovers or between friends.

 

* * *

 

 

It helped him realize how important talking to Bucky is.  
He says nothing on their way home but when they arrive at the facility, he grabs Bucky attention to ask if they can meet in half an hour in his place. Bucky quickly agrees with an even face.  
  
Sam rushes to get ready wondering why he said half an hour instead of a full hour and feels a bit ridiculous somewhere between looking for socks and wondering if this thin and oversize pale yellow pull is nice enough or not.  
  
When Bucky arrives Sam feels less nervous than he thought he would be.

  
  
“Needed something?” Bucky asks.

  
  
“You...Bucky, I need you”

  
  
Bucky falls silent a moment, looking at Sam for more answers.

  
  
“To do what?”

  
  
“Jesus Christ, Bucky, I want you to date me, okay? I am attracted to you and despite you being hella dense and an idiot sometimes you are also brave as fuck, one of the strongest person I know, funny and se...I mean good looking.  
I feel better when you are around and I want to explore that with you”

  
  
Sam feels proud of himself for telling it all, even if there’s a possibility of damaging their relationship.

  
  
“And if it doesn’t work?”

  
  
“But what if it does?”

  
  
“If the you and Steve from another reality couldn’t...”

  
  
Sam couldn’t erase Bucky doubts. Maybe it wouldn’t work but he couldn’t let Samuel’s existence ruin his chance.

  
  
“I do not care about them. I care about you Bucky and I am sure of myself when I say this”

  
  
Bucky sights, probably having it in him to argue more but ultimately he nods.

  
  
“Okay Wilson, but I do not take responsibility for this relationship, considered yourself warned”

  
  
That’s the weirdest agreement Sam had seen but he guesses it’s better than " _no_ ".

  
  
“You sure?”

  
  
“Yeah. You are not half bad yourself so...Just so you know, I am not used to date again. Do we...do we like, tell the others?”

  
  
Sam smiles wide and is that Bucky blushing he sees?

  
  
“As you want Buck’boy”

  
  
“Okay...nice. This is...I thought you would change your mind or something so I feel kind of stupid right now. I want it, but I’m just surprised”

  
  
Sam comes closer, takes his metal hand in his then goes in for a full hug.  
They can make it work, and for someone who acted like it was a bad idea, Bucky sure kisses him like he was waiting for it for a long time.

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
